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The Spanish Armada, Jul-Sep 1588
A map illustrating the route and failing fortunes of the Spanish Armada (from Spanish - Grande y Felicísima Armada, “Great and Most Fortunate Fleet”) in 1588. A crucial part of a planned invasion of England by King Philip II of Spain, the Armada was the largest fleet assembled in Europe, made up of more than 130 ships. It was considered invincible. The events of 1588 marked the pinnacle of years of political, religious, and trade friction between Catholic Spain and Protestant Elizabethan England. The English navy’s innovative strategies, the Spanish bad judgment and failed communication, together with unfavorable weather, doomed the enterprise to failure, cemented England’s sovereignty, and had profound consequences for the balance of power in Europe.
